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The Empire's Culture
Culture is a huge part of the Empire and its citizens lives. The immense nation wide honour and respect for the royal family and the Empire its self comes from the combined monarchy and governments decision to make culture a very large part of every day life. Influence form out side the Empire is almost unheard of thanks to the highly efficient border protection programs implemented in 1950. The major culture group in the Empire is in the Slavic communities which make up the vast majority. Folk Tradition Folk tradition has rooted strongly in the Empire and is reflected in literature, music, dance and architecture. The prime example is the Empire's national anthem, "Boh chválu svetla", which is based on a melody from "Kopala studienku" folk song. Manifestation of Slovak folklore culture is the "Východná" Folklore Festival. It is the oldest and largest nationwide festival with international participation, which takes place in Východná annually. The Empire is usually represented by many groups but mainly by SĽUO (Slovenský ľudový '' ''umelecký''oddelenie- Slovak folk art department''). SĽUO is the largest Slovak folk art group, trying to preserve the folklore tradition. Entire regions of the Empire have been rationally listed as heritage sites to keep the area, buildings, community and way of life very traditional. The best known Slovak hero, found in many folk mythologies, is Juraj Jánošík (1688–1713) (the Slovak equivalent of Robin Hood). The legend says he was taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Jánošík's life was depicted in a list of literature works and many movies throughout the 20th century. One of the most popular is a film Jánošík directed by Martin Frič in 1935. While Slavic, mostly Slovak, culture is the vast majority, it is not enforced upon the people. A wide of variety of cultures are practised around the Empire ranging from Chechens to Cossacks and from Kazakhs to Nords. All cultural groups, unless stated as an enemy of state, are funded and encouraged by the government and receive ample recognition on a local and national scale. These culture groups may occassionally form a province within a state and have their own self governing structure, while still abiding the Empire's government, and their own military force. Most notably are the Cossack provinces of Don, Kuban, Terek and Astrakhan which have all formed a united Cossack army, which is run locally and provides elite and well trained units to the Royal Slovak Army. Art Visual art in Slovakia is represented through painting, drawing, printmaking, illustration, arts and crafts, sculpture, photography or conceptual art. The supreme and central gallery institution displaying Slovak art nowadays is the Imperial Gallery, established in 1949. Music The music of Slovakia has been influenced both by the county's native Slovak peoples and the music of neighbouring regions. Whilst there are traces of pre-historic musical instruments, the country has a rich heritage of folk music and mediaeval liturgical music, and from the 18th century onwards, in particular, musical life was influenced by that of Austria-Hungary. In the 19th century, composers such as Jan Levoslav Bella began to write romantic music with a Slovak character. In the twentieth century, there were a number of composers who identified with Slovak culture. After the fall of the Petrov scheme in 1989–90 the Empire also began to develop its own popular music scene in a Western style although this is still seen as lowly music and is not preferred over the classics.. Cuisine Traditional Slovak cuisine is based mainly on pork meat, poultry (chicken is the most widely eaten, followed by duck, goose, and turkey), flour, potatoes, cabbage, and milk products. In comparison with other European countries, "game meat" is more accessible in Slovakia due to vast resources of forest and because hunting is relatively popular. Boar, rabbit, and venison, are generally available throughout the year. Lamb and goat are eaten but are not widely popular. The traditional Slovak meals are bryndzové halušky, bryndzové pirohy and other meals with potato dough and bryndza. Bryndza is a salty cheese made of a sheep milk, characterized by a strong taste and aroma. Bryndzové halušky must be on the menu of every Slovak restaurant. A typical soup is a sauerkraut soup ("kapustnica"). A blood sausage called "jaternica", made from any and all parts of a butchered pig is also a specific Slovak meal. Wine is enjoyed throughout Slovakia. Slovak wine comes predominantly from the southern areas along the Danube and its tributaries; the northern half of the country is too cold and mountainous to grow grapevines. Traditionally, white wine was more popular than red or rosé (except in some regions), and sweet wine more popular than dry, but in recent years tastes seem to be changing. Beer (mainly of the pilsener style, though dark lagers are also consumed) is also popular. Sport Sport activities are practiced widely in the Empire, many of them on a professional level. Among the most popular are ice hockey, football, tennis, handball, basketball, wrestling, archery, fencing, duelling, volleyball, whitewater slalom or athletics.